Hi All, Need the assistance of the Fchat faithful once again. After finally getting my 348 ts (1993) on the road after the last owner had it sitting for two years, I have a funny sound coming from the rear of the car. It sounds like it is on the left rear, but it may be because I am sitting on the left already. The sound is like a cross between a bit of bodywork vibrating on the exhaust (which i cannot spot so far) and a worn bearing. It comes and goes at random times and can be stopped by dipping the clutch. Sometimes gets quite loud. Doesn't seem to be effecting the car's running. My mech is a bit baffled but has come up with the exhaust rattling, which sounds wrong to me and a tensioner bearing as possible sources. However, the tensioners and belts were changed only a month or so ago, so I am pretty sure it isn't those. Also it sounds like it is coming from the very rear of the car, not from just behind my back. Anyone come across something similar? Have one other problem, but I'll post that in a bit. Any help would be much appreciated.
A possibility: Bearing at the back end of the clutch housing. #49 in http://www.ricambiamerica.com/parts_catalogs.php?M=FE&P=&V=diag&I=1370
Possibilities 1) The bearing on the clutch bell housing, as Mitch pointed out 2) The flywheel is low on grease and needs to be repacked 3) One of the exhaust hangers is loose and causes the rattle at certain rpm 4) One of your catalytic converters has failed and some of the ceramic matrix has found it's way into the muffler 5) You have been struck by the dreaded gearbox oil pump bearing failure 6) You have a failing/failed alternator tensioner bearing. As Daniel pointed out, S T O P driving the car. Again DO N O T drive the car, don't even turn it on. First drain the oil from the gearbox and check to make sure that there are no bits of metal found in the oil. If you find bits of metal you could have a blown bearing in the gearbox, which can lead to a HUGE repair bill. So you do not want any bits of potential broken bearing race going through the gearbox. Now if the gearbox oil turns out okay, then you can start trying to pin point where the noise is coming from.
Car is off the road at the mo waiting for an unrelated part, so no problems there. Gear change is quite hard sometimes and have had one or two difficult changes. Will get my guys to pull the clutch housing off and have a good look. Will also drain the oil out (which has only just gone in!) and have a look. Bear with me and I'll let you know what I discover. Thanks for the warnings. All duly noted.
